236: Chapter 236 The Mech's Shortcoming: Energy Shortage - No Matter How Advanced the Technology, Without Electricity, It's Just Scrap Metal.

After the deployment was complete, everyone moved quickly.

One second they were still nervously making plans in the Council Hall, and the next, Chen Wuwang and his group had already stepped out of the Main Peak gate, the morning wind whipping sand against their faces.

He walked in the front with steady strides, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye constantly scanning the deep, dark forest three hundred paces ahead.

There was an unnatural stillness lingering in the air; even the chirping of insects was abnormally sparse.

Chen Tiezhu followed behind, panting heavily, the toolkit on his back causing his shoulders to tilt unevenly.

The two spare energy cores hanging from his waist swayed with his footsteps, making a faint metallic clinking sound.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and cursed in a low voice: "This cursed weather, it's getting stuffier the further we walk."

Chen Wuwang didn't turn back, only asking indifferently: "Progress on the core recharging?"

"No movement." Chen Tiezhu gritted his teeth. "The recharging array is still being calibrated; I'm afraid the furnace will explode if we force activation. Right now, these two are practically scrap metal."

"Then don't count on them." Chen Wuwang tapped his knuckles against the dagger hilt in a short, sharp rhythm. "How much longer can the three sentry mechas hold out?"

Chen Tiezhu stopped, pulled a detection tablet from his backpack, swiped his fingers across it, and his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

"Based on current energy consumption, at most two full volleys. If there's no resupply for the third volley... the System will overload; at best it'll paralyze, at worst, it'll self-destruct."

Chen Wuwang paused his steps.

He didn't speak, just raised his right hand. A blue light flashed from his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, and the energy curves of the three mechas appeared in the air—the red lines were glaring, like three strings about to snap.

"It's not a coincidence." He said in a low voice, "Mo Yuan just retreated, and the demon nest appeared. They calculated that we just finished fighting, our mechas aren't repaired, and our energy hasn't been replenished."

"So it was intentional?" Chen Tiezhu's voice turned heavy. "Waiting for us to charge in, for the mechas to run out of power, so they can close the net from the shadows?"

"Likely." Chen Wuwang sneered. "The enemy doesn't fear me being ruthless; they only fear me being stupid. They are betting that I will celebrate our victory, that I will let my guard down, that I will make a mistake. But they forgot—"

He turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing straight at Chen Tiezhu: "I have never believed in the word 'safety'."

Chen Tiezhu opened his mouth to retort, but swallowed the words back.

He knew Chen Wuwang's temper—the more dangerous it was, the crazier he got; and the crazier he got, the clearer his mind became.

He looked down at the detection tablet, then looked up at the dense forest ahead, his voice lowering: "Family Head, how about... we retreat first? Enter again after we've recharged?"

"Retreat?" Chen Wuwang scoffed. "Have you forgotten how the insect swarm ambushed the mineral vein last time? It was this kind of weather, this same road, and people also said 'wait a while before going in.' And the result? Thirty children died at the mouth of the earth fissure; we couldn't even piece their remains together."

Chen Tiezhu's throat tightened.

He remembered that day, when he personally dug out a charred half of a child's shoe from the ruins, the laces still tied in the knot he had made himself.

"That's why I won't wait." Chen Wuwang turned and continued walking forward, his steps heavier. "They want to grab me by the throat, so I will insist on seizing their vital point. But—"

He suddenly stopped, fingers unconsciously tapping the dagger hilt, once, twice, as if calculating something.

This time, they really were being grabbed by the throat.

Chen Tiezhu felt a tightening in his heart as he listened.

He knew this nephew of his too well.

The calmer he usually was, the bigger the problem actually was.

Now that he said this, it wasn't a complaint, but an admission—their pride and joy, the mecha legion, had been forced to the edge of a cliff before even setting out for the first time.

"No matter how advanced technology is, without power, it's just scrap metal." Chen Tiezhu smiled bitterly. "We've spent three years on Cyber Cultivation, only to fall on the most basic issue of power supply."

"It's not a problem with the technology." Chen Wuwang stared ahead. "It's that we rely on it too much. Before, we relied on swords, talismans, and arrays; now, everything is pinned on the mechas. Once the power is cut, the entire defensive System is as flimsy as paper."

"Then what do we do?" Chen Tiezhu was anxious. "We can't just let Xiao Dao go slash at the demon nest with a sword, right?"

"That's not what I mean." Chen Wuwang shook his head. "I'm saying we need to change. The first thing after the battle—rebuild the recharging network. The priority is higher than upgrading the Artifact Refining Workshop, higher than developing new mechas, higher than everything."

He paused, his voice lower: "Write it down."

Chen Tiezhu froze for a moment, then immediately took out a recording tablet from his toolkit and used a carving knife to make deep marks on it: "Reconstruction of the recharging network, the number one priority after the battle, highest priority."

"Correct." Chen Wuwang nodded. "We can't rely on that one recharging array at the Main Peak anymore. It needs to be decentralized, hidden, and capable of being activated at any time. Just like a Spiritual Vein underground—unseen, untouchable, but always alive."

The two were silent for a moment; the wind and sand began to rise, blowing their robes until they snapped in the wind.

The forest in the distance remained deathly silent, not even a bird's shadow to be seen.

Chen Tiezhu suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice: "Then what about now? Just charge in like this? The mechas only have thirty percent power left; what if it's a trap inside..."

"We won't charge, and we won't retreat." Chen Wuwang narrowed his eyes. "We'll change our tactics."

"Change tactics?"

"Yes." Chen Wuwang raised his hand, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye switching modes to pull up the mecha combat logs. "In the past ten battles, the peak energy consumption occurred at the third full volley. After that, combat effectiveness dropped off a cliff. What does that tell you?"

"It means... we rely too much on burst damage?" Chen Tiezhu ventured.

"Exactly." Chen Wuwang nodded. "We've gotten used to using mechas to crush everything, outputting at full power from the start, desperate to kill the enemy in one move. But not this time. This time, we have to fight frugally, like a hunter waiting at a pit, waiting for the fish to swim in on its own."

"You mean... a stalling tactic?"

"Not stalling, but crowd control." Chen Wuwang sneered. "Let them move first, we'll strike later. If there's not enough energy, we'll just shoot more accurately. One mecha, one full volley, must take out a whole group. Absolutely no waste."

Chen Tiezhu's eyes lit up as he listened: "I can modify the firepower distribution algorithm to concentrate the energy into the main cannon, sacrificing mobility for kill efficiency."

"Do it." Chen Wuwang was decisive. "Modify it on the way. By the time we reach the edge of the forest, the program must be running."

"Got it!" Chen Tiezhu immediately crouched down, opened his toolkit, took out a spirit energy board, and his fingers quickly carved rune code onto it.

Chen Wuwang didn't speak again, just stood in place, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye constantly scanning the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the surroundings.

In the wind and sand, data streams flowed across his vision like a waterfall.

He rapidly simulated three plans in his mind—

A. Return to base to recharge: Safe, but would miss the opportunity. The enemy might move their nest, or even infiltrate the Main Peak in reverse.

B. Force entry, quick battle: Dangerous; if they encounter an ambush and the mechas run out of power, everyone will be passive.

C. Deploy non-mecha units for reconnaissance first: A compromise, preserving main combat power, but low efficiency, and the risk remains.

Of the three options, none were perfect.

In the end, he didn't choose any of them.

Because a true commander is not the one who chooses the answer, but the one who changes the rules.

"Tiezhu." He suddenly spoke up.

"Here." Chen Tiezhu didn't even lift his head.

"After the battle, I want you to lead a project."

"What project?"

"Portable recharging device." Chen Wuwang stared into the distance. "Palm-sized, able to be stuffed into the mecha's chest cavity, to save lives in critical moments. Doesn't need to be much, just hold on for ten minutes."

"You mean... like how a Cultivator carries a Medicinal Pill, the mecha carries a 'power bank'?"

"Correct." Chen Wuwang grinned. "We are doing Cyber Cultivation; we can't be boxed in by traditional thinking. Cultivators have pills, talismans, and arrays; why can't we have 'Energy Pills' specifically for mechas?"

"This..." Chen Tiezhu scratched his head. "Materials are hard to find, the spirit energy conversion rate is low, and heat dissipation is also a problem..."

"I don't want to hear about difficulties." Chen Wuwang interrupted. "I only look at results. Tell me how many resources you need. If you need people, I'll go snatch them. If you need land, I'll tear down houses. But this thing must be made."

Chen Tiezhu looked at his eyes, which were glowing with blood-colored spiritual patterns, and suddenly laughed: "Alright, I'll risk this old life of mine to build it for you!"

"That's more like a craftsman of my Chen family." Chen Wuwang patted his shoulder and turned to continue walking forward.

The wind and sand grew stronger.

The three-hundred-pace distance felt as long as a lifetime.

Chen Wuwang stopped and looked toward the deep, dark forest ahead.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed with blue light, pulling up the mecha energy curves to review the energy consumption data from the past ten battles in his mind.

Every time, it was the same problem—strong burst, weak endurance, and too high a reliance on energy.

This was not a coincidence.

This was a systematic shortcoming.

He slowly exhaled, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

But he didn't retreat.

And he could not retreat.

Behind him was the Chen family, and countless pairs of eyes staring at him. He could lose, but he could not be a coward.

"Move." He lifted his foot and stepped forward. "Advance according to the plan. Remember—fight frugally, shoot accurately, and come back alive."

Chen Tiezhu shouldered his toolkit and followed closely behind.

Their figures drifted further away into the wind and sand, walking toward that deathly silent forest.

Three hundred paces away, in the shadows at the entrance of the forest, a dead branch suddenly snapped.